


i keep you with me like a ghost

by tellmewhatyousee



Series: i dance with your mirage [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 500 words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Dead Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Yearning, though it's kind of ambiguous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29164053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellmewhatyousee/pseuds/tellmewhatyousee
Summary: Law thinks about Cora and what could have been.
Relationships: Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Series: i dance with your mirage [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189754
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	i keep you with me like a ghost

**Author's Note:**

> this fic (and the title) is inspired by stephanie mabey's [heart-shaped hologram](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4z5ecLCvSQ) which gives me big coralaw feels

It took nearly a decade for Law to understand his feelings. He’d repressed quite a lot over the years, he realized; his childhood had been dreadful enough without _emotions_. He did what he had to in order to survive, and sometimes, he just had to bottle things up. He never gave himself the time to process such a traumatic event— he just suppressed it for the rest of his childhood.

Now, everything reminded him of Corazón.

Law saw his feather coat in the fluffy black blanket draped over his bed. He smelled the familiar scent of cigarettes as he walked through the city. He heard his voice in the silence of the operating room when he held a patient’s heart in his hands. It was almost as if Cora was still there, watching over him while he lived on.

Law didn’t believe in ghosts, but perhaps he could be convinced.

He loved Cora. Even after so much time without him, Law was sure of that. Though they hadn’t known each other for long, those few years were an integral part of Law’s life (and without Cora, he wouldn’t have lived past them). That clumsy, goofy man was the closest thing he’d had to family since he lost his own. Of _course_ Law loved him.

Only after Cora’s death, when Law had grown up, did he suspect it could have been something deeper than that. Thoughts that had been easy to dismiss during his teenage years were suddenly overwhelming, drowning everything else out. ‘Love’ and ‘ _in_ love’ seemed like two distinct concepts— but what _made_ them distinct? What was so different? Why was it only _after_ his death that Law thought about what it might have felt like to kiss him?

It didn’t matter; he’d never know.

Sometimes, he regretted his tattoos. They initially served as a memorial, a tribute; now, it felt... different. He was almost ashamed. He loved a dead man so much that he’d endured hours of pain, a set of needles scraping across some of the most sensitive parts of his body, just to honor him. It seemed so right at the time, but with his newfound feelings, he wasn’t so sure.

As he traced his fingers over the dark lines on his chest, he wondered what Corazón would think if he ever saw them— how he would react to the image of Law branded with his motif, representing him with a permanent mark on his body. Sure, it would be embarrassing, but maybe he’d appreciate it. Maybe he’d find it flattering. The idea of Cora inspecting his tattoos, running his hands over his scarred torso, made Law blush.

If nothing else, Cora would smile. He was sure of that.

Law knew there was no sense in dwelling on these things. He could fantasize all he wanted, speculate about how Cora might treat him as an adult, but that wouldn’t change anything. For the rest of his life, he’d be left to wonder.

Corazón wasn’t coming back.


End file.
